Baby-feeding bottle holder

ABSTRACT

A baby bottle or toy holder formed from a strip of flexible material including integrally formed bottle-holding and toyholding means; adjustable fastening means on said flexible material to maintain the bottle or toy in an operative position and an adjustable fastener to secure the strip to the baby&#39;&#39;s body.

ni States Emond at a1.

[ atent [15] [45] Jan, 1 m y [54] BABY-FEEDING BOTTLE HOLDE [72] Inventors: Armand J. Emond, P. O. Box 62, Pembroke, Ontario; Duncan 1B. McDonald, Fredericton, New Brunswick, both of Canada [73] Assignee: said Emond, by said McDonald [22] Filed: Sept. 1 ll, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 856,943

[52] US. Cl. ..248/102, 224/5 BC, 224/6 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47d 15/00 [58] Field of Search ..224/5.23, 525,6, 3;248/102,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,287,125 12/1918 Smith ..248/102 1,567,225 12/1925 Barbin ..248/102 2,428,724 10/ 1947 Stretz ..248/102 2,953,337 9/1960 Valis ..248/102 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 337,976 7/1919 Germany ..224/5.23

Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant Examiner-Jerrold M. Forsberg Anomey-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A baby bottle or toy holder formed from a strip of flexible material including integrally formed bottle-holding and toyholding means; adjustable fastening means on said flexible material to maintain the bottle or toy in an operative position and an adjustable fastener to secure the strip to the baby's body.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures BABY-FEEDING BOTTLE HOLDER This invention relates to new and useful improvements in baby-feeding bottle holders.

Several methods are used to prop feeding bottles while the mother engages in other household duties, the most common of these methods being the use of a pillow on which the bottle is placed so that it rests at an angle to the baby's mouth to permit feeding without holding the bottle.

These methods are not practical in that if the baby releases the nipple and turns his head sideways the bottle generally drops away from the pillow so that the baby cannot reach it; the baby becomes unhappy when the bottle is lost and the mother must then of necessity return to the crib and reset the bottle.

According to the invention, we provide a baby bottle holder formed of an arcuate strip of flexible material comprising, bottle holding means, fastening means adapted to adjust the circumference of the strip to maintain the bottle in an operative position relative to the baby, and an adjustable belt to secure the strip to the babys body.

With the present invention the bottle is held within reach of the baby s head in a tilted manner when the adjustable belt is fastened round the babys body. The milk will flow at an angle preventing the baby from sucking in air. The bottle is always within reach of the babys mouth and when the baby rolls sideways, the bottle will roll with the baby retaining the same distance from the infants mouth, since the holder is fastened to its body.

The baby-feeding bottle holder may also be attached to and used in conjunction with high chairs, cribs, carriages, bassinettes and baby lounges. The baby may be fed in sitting or supine positions. The baby bottle holder is also a toy holder.

Thus the invention includes a baby's toy holder formed of an arcuate strip of flexible material comprising, toy-holding means, fastening means adapted to adjust the circumference of the strip to maintain the toy in an operative position relative to the baby, and an adjustable belt to secure the strip to the babys body. The toy is retained in front of the baby and within the babys reach so that the baby is kept occupied and entertained. The mother is not continually returning to find and replace the toy in front of the baby for its use. When used as a bottle or toy holder the device also provides a built-in safety device as the baby may roll from side to side but no further.

Preferably when either a bottle or a toy is to be held the holding means comprise two substantially longitudinal slots in the strip to define two substantially longitudinal outer portions and a substantially longitudinal central portion adapted to hold the bottle between the outer portions on the one hand and the central portion on the other hand. The fastening means and adjustable belt are preferably integral parts of the strip.

In drawings which illustrate the embodiments of the invention:

FIG. I is a plan view of a feeding bottle or toy holder constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device showing how a feeding bottle or toy is held in position for feeding or play;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing one of the angles at which the feeding bottle or toy is held;

FIG. 4 shows how the device could be attached to baby furniture such as a high chair; each looped end being secured to a side member of said crib or play pen; and

FIG. 5 shows a view similar to FIG. 4 with the strip in its flat position.

Referring to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the baby bottle holder as shown therein is made up of an arcuate strip of flexible material. The strip has centrally disposed cut-out portions 110 and I! which have a central section 12. When the bottle is placed between central section 12 and the top or bottom of the strip, the bottle is held f rmly in position.

On both ends of said cutout portions and II are two cutout sections 114 and 15 which form adjustable straps to encircle the baby's body to secure the device in osition. In FIG. I of the drawing, straps 1d and 15 are shown ormed with an eye 16 in strap M and a plurality of integrally formed prongs 17 in strap 15 to secure both straps together as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing. To add flexibility to the bottle holding member of the device, cutout portions 18 are formed on each extremity nearest the portions 10 and ll of the cutout portion forming the straps Hi and I5. Transverse cutout sections 19 are formed near the outer extremities of the main belt to fasten the narrowed ends 20 around the baby's body. It is to be understood that other methods could be used to connect both the main belt which holds the bottle or toy as well as the straps which encircle the baby, by such items as buckles, snaps or hooks.

When secured for operation the baby's body would fit inside the opening 21, shown in FIG. 2, so that it is readily understood that the device, although flexible would prevent an infant from rolling of? a flat surface. The holding means are seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the operative position holding a bottle or toy 113 (in FIG. 3 a bottle is drawn but it is to be understood that a toy could be substituted).

The device is also used to secure a toy to amuse a child. As shown in FIG. 4, the device could be secured to a high chair, that is, each looped end 22 fastened to an arm of the chair.

As shown in FIG. 5, the same looped ends could be fastened to the side members of a play pen or crib.

The holder is shown in FIG. 1 as an arcuate strip. The ad vantage of the arcuate strip is that the sections I4 and 15 which form straps to encircle the babys body may be secured comfortably near the babys waist when the strip is arcuate. Further, the arcuate strip in operation is bent so that the bottle is facing towards the babys head.

The cutout portions 10 and 11 and cutout portions 13 on either side of the bottle holder assist in determining the angle between the strip and the bottle. While the cutouts 118 are shown as arcuate they may take other shapes which assist in controlling the flexibility and control of the bottle holder. The cutout portions always ensure the proper distance and angle of the bottle holder relative to babys different positions preventing baby from sucking in air. In addition other cutout portions may be incorporated at other locations on the strip for added control or for holding toys.

The holder is adjustable in circumference by means of straps 20 and cutouts 19. By adjusting the circumference the bottle is brought into proximity to the babys mouth. By further adjustment of the bottle in cutouts 10, Ill and central section 12, the bottle is held in operative: position.

While this description has related mainly to bottle holding it will be appreciated that toys may be held in an operative position by similar adjustment.

We claim:

1. A holder for holding an article such as a baby-feeding bottle or toy in the vicinity of a baby's hands or mouth comprising: an strip of flexible material, arcuate when flat, including belt portions adjacent the ends of the arcuate strip, and article-holding means intermediate the ends of the arcuate strip; said belt portions being adjustably securable to one another to secure the holder to the babys body with the belt portions nearer the baby's waist and the article holding means nearer the babys mouth; and fastening means between the article holding means and each belt portion, said fastening means, when fastened together, and said belt portions, when secured to one another, forming a baby-encircling belt of adjustable circumference with the article held by said holding means.

2. An article holder according to claim 1, wherein the article holding means is an integral part of the strip of flexible material.

3. The article holder of claim I, wherein the holding means comprise two substantially longitudinal slots in the strip to define two substantially longitudinal outer portions and a substantially longitudinal central portion adapted to hold the article between the outer portions on the one hand and the central portion on the other hand.

li 'l I II t 

1. A holder for holding an article such as a baby-feeding bottLe or toy in the vicinity of a baby''s hands or mouth comprising: an strip of flexible material, arcuate when flat, including belt portions adjacent the ends of the arcuate strip, and articleholding means intermediate the ends of the arcuate strip; said belt portions being adjustably securable to one another to secure the holder to the baby''s body with the belt portions nearer the baby''s waist and the article holding means nearer the baby''s mouth; and fastening means between the article holding means and each belt portion, said fastening means, when fastened together, and said belt portions, when secured to one another, forming a baby-encircling belt of adjustable circumference with the article held by said holding means.
 2. An article holder according to claim 1, wherein the article holding means is an integral part of the strip of flexible material.
 3. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the holding means comprise two substantially longitudinal slots in the strip to define two substantially longitudinal outer portions and a substantially longitudinal central portion adapted to hold the article between the outer portions on the one hand and the central portion on the other hand. 